Weather

01/30/2015

Winter at the Inn can be both beautiful and wild. This past week has been particularly wild, but the results, pictured below, were quite beautiful. Walking through the muted landscape, with only the wind and the crunch of snow underfoot, and later under ski, was a delight. Shoveling was, perhaps, less delightful, but it was good exercise! The high winds during the storm created some very dramatic drifts and left other parts of the grounds bare. With this first big storm of the winter behind us, we look forward to seeing what the rest of the season will bring!

01/21/2014

Today is another one of those unusually cold winter days with more snow on the way. We thought we'd post some pictures of winter at the Inn, taken after the last big snowfall. Looks a little different than summer!

11/03/2011

With the season over we've spent much of the last month or so preparing the property for winter. Of course we didn't expect winter to arrive quite so quickly, but our brief flirtation with a January landscape has melted away over the last few days. Fortunately we had most of our winterization done before the snowstorm.

One of most significant projects this fall was an unexpected one. As many of you know our apple tree by the Nineteenth Hole has seen better days. Understandable, given its approximately hundred years (estimated from the rings). Well, this August one of the last remaining major limbs began to let go. Fortunately Randy was able to prop it up and strap the tree back together. It is stable once again, and full of a ripe bounty of apples!

Which brings to mind an aspect of Rock Gardens that sometimes gets overlooked for the more obvious charms of the Inn. In addition to our beautiful coastline, cozy cottages, and wonderful staff, Rock Gardens also takes great care to bring you as much local, sustainable food as possible. Beyond our apple pie we also grow our own herbs and veggies, buy other veggies from local farms, get berries and other fruit from local pickers and growers, and we get our lobsters from about four miles down the road in Westpoint, and they're caught from the very same waters you see from our cottages. This connection to our community, and the quality and known provenance of the food it provides is very important to us, and we believe that it comes through in the meals that we serve.

In the spirit of the fall harvest we have included below a couple of pictures featuring a small selection of the food we grow right here on the property. We hope you enjoy them!

06/09/2011

Opening day is almost here, and we're making good use of the warm, sunny weather to make sure everything is in great shape for our 100th season! One of the largest tasks we have in the months prior to opening is making sure everything that needs it gets a fresh coat of paint. That includes everything from cottages, to fences, to the outdoor chairs our guests use to relax and enjoy the view! Below we have included a couple of pictures from that process (including Lily's best efforts to turn her tail into a paintbrush). Hope you enjoy!

04/01/2011

Winter may have gotten its last snowstorm in today, but in the back woods of Phippsburg the trees are already celebrating the return of spring. We spent the evening yesterday with Jim Joseph (a man well know to our frequent contradancers) making syrup! After harvesting the sap from the trees Jim boils it down, removing excess water, until only the purest syrup is left over. The same process is used to make the syrup we serve every morning here at the Inn. Anyone craving pancakes yet? We hope you enjoy the photos below!

12/21/2010

It's the holiday season once again, and though the Inn is closed and shuttered, our thoughts often turn to our guests and their families. For all of us here at Rock Gardens Inn, I would like to wish everyone Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year!

I've also included a couple of pictures of the first snow of the year here at the Inn, taken on the winter solstice, that I hope you'll enjoy! We'll be back in 2011 with more wintry photos, and sneak peaks of plans for the 100th! Until then, be well and take care.

10/26/2010

With the crisp bite of fall air reminding us that winter is just around the corner, we'd like to take a moment to show you some of the beauty that the transition from summer to winter brings to Maine, as well as some of the activities it brings to the Inn. Below you can see the gorgeous leaves giving their last, bright hurrah, and some of our flowers, still in bloom despite the chill in the air. We also have a picture of one of the most quintessential fall symbols, the pumpkin; this one grown by Randy! And finally a shot of our post-season work, with Randy and Chris working on the roof of Trail's End. We hope you enjoy this little snapshot of fall at Rock Gardens Inn!

09/29/2010

Fall is a beautiful time to be outside here at Rock Gardens Inn. Today we thought we'd share with you some of the outdoor activities we have been pursuing lately. Below are two pictures, the first shows plein air painters Ellie Porta and Celeste Parke, the second show our plein air scrapers Tori Gilliam and Kendra Currie. We hope that you enjoy the pictures, and that you get to spend some time out en plein air yourself in this lovely fall weather!

09/15/2010

Here at Rock Gardens Inn the summer season is starting to wind down, and you can feel fall coming. Below are a few pictorial examples. Be it the veritable carpet of apples covering the ground by the 19th Hole that Lily enjoys so much, or the fall colors found in our gardens. Most telling of fall, however, is the ritual return of the dock to its winter berth, this year thanks to the efforts of Randy and DJ. We hope you enjoy the photos!